Another year of life

Published July 19, 2012

Stockton Sentinel

Stockton, Kansas

            This week I celebrated another year of life in this world. There was no big celebration (unless I can count the thousands of people present at the Kansas City Royals game we were at on my birthday). There was no cake; no one sang “Happy Birthday” to me. I didn’t gather family and friends together to sing all of my favorite hymns like I did several years ago on my birthday. Actually, aside from my husband treating me like a queen, and many well wishes on my “wall” on Facebook, it was a quiet celebration, the best kind.

            Birthdays, like New Year’s Day, humble me to spend some time in reflection and meditation. A birthday delivers the perfect opportunity to be grateful for life and all that has come with it. It’s a time to think about all the special people who have blessed my life along the way, and to be grateful for them, as well. That’s not to say I’m grateful for all this only once or twice a year, but it seems as though, the older I get, I am a little more reflective on the anniversary of my first breath.

            My husband and I didn’t move away from our hometown until we were almost 40 years old. Our roots were sunk pretty deep into the heart and soul of our little Goessel community by that time, and I never dreamed we would live anywhere else. But Bob’s degree in secondary education changed that, and ever since he earned that piece of paper, we have written some very interesting and diverse chapters in our life story that I couldn’t have ever imagined. I can’t help but think of all the wonderful people, unique experiences, and fulfilling opportunities we would never have known, if Bob had not gone back to college to get his teaching degree.

           One of my favorite authors, Claire Cloninger, verbalized my birthday thoughts perfectly. In her book, “A Place Called Simplicity,” Claire wrote: “If we were to unravel the fabric of our lives, I believe we would find that the very weave and pattern of who we are today has been largely determined by what we have chosen to do and say and be at each crossroad. Who we are is in some way a summary of lots of big and little choices.”